Guest Blogger:  Ms. Kyra Brown, Kindergarten Blingual Teacher, Spaulding School

There are many myths that abound regarding bilingual students and their relationship to language and learning. A common (and erroneous) refrain goes along the lines of, “Young bilingual children are delayed in learning language compared to their peers who only speak one language.” As an adult learner of Spanish and a new member of our district’s bilingual teaching staff, I can attest to the sheer inaccuracy of such myths and can testify to the understanding, talent and joy that are untapped when bilingual students are able to engage with their two languages in celebratory, authentic, meaningful ways. As a kindergarten teacher with memories of building my own Spanish literacy still very fresh in my mind, I am overjoyed to be part of our young students’ early experiences of taking ownership of their two languages by developing foundational Spanish and English literacy skills.

In addition to allowing me to work with students in a new, dynamic way, joining our district’s bilingual team has afforded me the privilege of collaborating with talented educators from across the district in order to improve my practice as well as explore the evolving biliteracy framework that we have adopted in order to maximize the learning of our bilingual students. Through strategic integration of Spanish and English literacy instruction with the exploration of science and social studies standards, students are given opportunities to converse, listen, read and write in Spanish and English at each grade level.

A typical day in bilingual kindergarten begins with us sharing thoughts and stories in Spanish, then building the fundamentals of math and literacy in Spanish through the lenses of science and social studies. The linguistic richness of these mornings is greatly enhanced by the participation of Silvia Mariani and Rachel Cacchione, who use their knowledge of Spanish and their talents as educators to enhance the learning of  our students. Though this part of the day is a rich exploration and use of Spanish, the students are always eager and willing to communicate with their peers from other classrooms in English while socializing during lunch and recess or participating in their Specials/Related Arts classes.

Each afternoon finds us creating opportunities to build bridges between Spanish and English. For example, Mrs. Wood and Mrs. McLeroy frequently visit our classroom to deliver engaging, helpful English literacy lessons that illuminate the joy of reading and offer students insight into story elements that transcend language. Additionally, my own bridging lessons allow me to invite students to explore the connections between English and Spanish by comparing and contrasting how our languages work. There is something deeply satisfying about showing our students how much they can do as bilingual learners, whether it be to understand and write Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous words, “I Have a dream/Tengo un sueño” in both languages or to find kinship with the characters in a wide range of books, from The Rain Came Down to Un beso de buenas noches.

As the first half of the 2017-2018 school year has taught me, students who come to our classrooms with knowledge of more than one language are offering us as educators the thrilling opportunity to celebrate their diverse cultural contexts and to give them an invaluable, necessary opportunity to become literate in their two languages. If we as teachers do our jobs well, our bilingual students will gain with each year a firmer grasp of how to speak, listen, read and write in Spanish and English all the while gaining an analytical appreciation of the similarities and differences that their two languages possess. What better gift to give our students than ownership of the languages that have such an impact on their lives?

As the first half of the 2017-2018 school year has taught me, students who come to our classrooms with knowledge of more than one language are offering us as educators the thrilling opportunity to celebrate their diverse cultural contexts and to give them an invaluable, necessary opportunity to become literate in their two languages. If we as teachers do our jobs well, our bilingual students will gain with each year a firmer grasp of how to speak, listen, read and write in Spanish and English all the while gaining an analytical appreciation of the similarities and differences that their two languages possess. What better gift to give our students than ownership of the languages that have such an impact on their lives?